Destiny:Lull
by Thorfin
Summary: A new story set during 'The Empire Strikes Back'. New characters based on a role playing game I did with some friends
1. Not his day

STANDARD DISCLAIMER:

It should be noted that all recognizable characters in this story (i.e., Darth Vader, Kuat of Kuat, Durga the Hutt, etc…) are copyrighted and owned by someone in Lucas Inc. My use of these and any other copyrighted material are solely for the purpose of advancing this story's plot.

"It has been said that you cannot fight your destiny, but destiny is not something that needs fighting. For destiny is not the end, but the beginning. Destiny places one at the start of a path. It is up to the destined to determine its end." -High Matriarch Kalora

This was not his day.

As he stared at the bottom of his empty glass, he wondered why the Scorekeeper had punished him so. It wasn't as if he hadn't done his part. He worked as hard as any other bounty hunter. As a child he had excelled at social sports such as hunting and killing. Why, when barely twelve years old, he had killed his first Wookie. Surely the Scorekeeper had noticed such things.

He thought all this as his sluggish scaly hand reached for the pitcher again. This time it was slapped with the barrel of a pistol. Too drunk and depressed to get angry, he simply stared at the face of the person who slapped him. Who was she? Oh, yeah, Leda. Storsek slowly focused his blood red eyes on one of his two friends. She was pretty, for a Rodian. Her red hair fell down to her shoulders. Her antennae folded over her light green forehead. Her deep black eyes could drown a being. He began to smile at her, a little spittle forming at the corners of his snout. Maybe if he acted serious enough, she would…   SMACK!    Maybe not. 

As he picked his head up from the bug-infested table, his only other friend sat down. Maybe he shouldn't call him friend, Storsek thought. After all, Sullustans were hideously ugly with those jowls hanging beneath their ears. But, Xieb did stick by him, even when like this. Storsek knew he shouldn't be behaving like this, drinking until he couldn't see straight, especially in a rat infested hole like this place. He was, after all, descended from the greatest warriors Dosha had ever known.

Not that anyone ever cared enough to listen to that. The only Trandoshan anyone ever wanted to hear about was Dossk, and that idiot had given the rest of them a bad reputation to begin with. Never able to finish a job, always second place to that blasted Fett, Dossk had been a disappointment to the entire race. 

And Jabba had only given Storsek and his friends the most menial of tasks. Fetching overdue payments, scaring the locals into buying his protection, nothing worthy of Storsek's skills. It had been so long since he'd returned home for a rest. He longed for the taste of a fresh kill between his teeth. He was utterly bored on this barren dust ball. They had had no actual work in weeks. Xieb's face showed a bit of enthusiasm, though. 

"You'll never believe the luck we have" he started. Then he looked at Storsek. "Can he actually hear me?" he asked Leda. Leda waved her hand in front of the Trandoshan's snout. He grew irritated and growled, "I can hear you just fine." 

"Good, because I think we have a job waiting for us." 

"Let me guess" Leda's voice dripped in sarcasm, "we're robbing the Imperial Treasury for Jabba." 

"Not quite," Xieb's voice showed his exasperation. "There's a Rodian over there who says he knows of something. I say we go over and talk to him. Maybe we can persuade him to let us in on the secret." 

"Yeah," Leda said, "and maybe the barkeep will start serving real drinks." As they approached the table, Xieb sat down in front of the pudgy Rodian while Leda and Storsek stood behind him trying to look fierce. "You seek information about a job, yes?" Xieb look like he had been slapped in the face. "How did you know that?" 

"Doda has many ears in many places. Some ears tell Doda that you need money. Others tell Doda that Empire needs job done. Nice coincidence, no?" 

"Yes, a very nice coincidence. Wouldn't it be an even nicer coincidence if you told me about this job of the Empire's?" Doda looked down at the empty table, "Sure would. But Doda can no remember much right now. Not eat in much time." Before Xieb could even reach for his pouch, Storsek stepped forward and put the tip of his rifle to the Rodian's head. "Now lissen here" the slurred words came out, "You're going to tell us about this job, or my claw starts twitching." Both Leda and Xieb moved as if to restrain their friend, but instead felt massive paws grab their shoulders and pull them back. Storsek looked at the giant Wookie with a smile. He would enjoy this. The click of a blaster pistol at his temple made Storsek turn around to see the smiling human. This was not his day.


	2. Heritage

Staring out over the mountain range, Chessik thought about the beauty of Chalwa's creations. The way the snow hugged the sharp mountaintops, the wind whipping her auburn hair around her slightly pointed pale ears, she was sincerely happy with her decision to join the Family and become a priestess. She knew it was Chalwa's decision. She had felt it. The High Matriarch had noticed that Chessik could already hear Chalwa and told her how rare it was for someone to hear him before the Initiation. All the clearer, then, would his voice be after she drank from the holy waters. As she cleared the peaks and began her descent, Chessik felt her stomach begin to growl. Remembering that her fast had ended earlier that morning, she decided to find some food. As she searched, she thought of how her life would soon change. She knew that her duties as a priestess would leave little time for her committed, Croreb. She was sorry for that. Though he was new to the conclave, she had grown to cherish her time with him. She began to feel the life force of a small frazz behind the nearby rocks. As she drew her magpopper and moved toward the rock, she hoped the frazz would forgive her.

                The coordinates were set. His mission was clear, to find a Jedi and kill him. This was his destiny, his call. He was but one of many who had come before him. It was the rite of passage for all the rulers of his planet. Ever since Rashid Vadd slew Quorihor, all Vadds had had to hunt and kill a Jedi to inherit the throne. Now it was his turn. His father was already very old and wouldn't last much longer. Without a new king, the people of Vashmir would loose themselves in anarchy.

                The problem was finding a Jedi to kill. While his planet was generally not involved in the dealings of the galaxy, a few pieces of news did make their way to Vashmir. It seemed that a new order had been put into place during the last fifty years, one that did not foster Jedi. While this news was received with great joy, it did make the rite more difficult to complete.

                He patted the staff folded up in his hip pocket. He would succeed; he would rid the galaxy of one more Jedi. Then he would return to rule his people in peace. He was Lord Dunkin Vadd. This was his destiny.


	3. Duros

Hurtling through the vastness of hyperspace, you wouldn't think a being would feel cramped or boxed in, but that was exactly how Storsek was feeling. It had already been over three standard days since the bar incident, and their cabin was actually looking smaller. Looking over at Leda, he knew she wasn't feeling much better. Xieb slept like a Doshan Slooth, which hibernated three fourths of the planet's cycle. It only seemed logical that the rodent-like Sullustan wouldn't notice enclosed spaces; his whole species lived under ground. 

Storsek look over at Leda and opened his mouth. "You know…" 

"Oh, shut-up!" she snapped back. "If you hadn't been so drunk that you actually put a rifle to that scum's head, we would have had enough money to get a bigger room. But no! You had to be the big scary Trandoshan and threaten his life! You almost got us killed!" 

"Yeah, but I didn't." Leda looked ready to pull her pistol on him again. "And, besides, we got the information we needed, didn't we?" 

"Only after paying for his meals through the next galactic cycle." 

"You two want to keep down the noise? I'm trying to sleep. You should too. It'll only be another few hours till we reach the Duros system. And we'll need to start this job as soon as possible." Xieb then rolled over and fell back asleep. How he did it, Storsek would never know. Though, now that he was sober enough to think, he did agree that he had acted a little rashly with the Rodian. He should have at least smelled the Wookie. It's not like there were that many loose in the galaxy to begin with. And how a human could sneak up on him without Storsek even noticing was an embarrassment. The more he thought about it, the more he agreed that intoxicants only got you killed faster, not a good thing in his mind. Of course, Leda would say that he'd said all this before.

After reaching the Duros system, they caught a shuttle up to the Executor. As the shuttle circled the Super Class Star Destroyer, the only word that came to Xieb's mind was, "wow." Even so, he was still more articulate than his friends. He knew that this ship was Darth Vader's personal ship. If there had been nothing more that would have been enough. Rumors of Vader's powers were what kept most bounty hunters away from Imperial affairs. But add that to the large amounts of weaponry that the Executor boasted, and most sane people just stayed away. Leda looked in awe as they passed under the durasteel belly of the gargantuan ship. As the shuttle docked in a secondary hanger bay, she felt that she was being swallowed alive. As they stepped off the ramp, a rather pompous looking Imperial officer walked up to the ramp.

"I assume that you are here about the bounty hunt?" The imp's tone of voice reminded Storsek of a protocol droid. Xieb answered. "We were told the Empire had a job available. We're interested in whatever creds you got." The imperial officer didn't even try to hide his disgust. "Then follow me. The other hunters are already in the briefing room." With that, the arrogant human turned and strode off towards a lift.

"I thought that there wouldn't be any competition!" Leda motioned for Storsek to lower his voice. "We were never told that. For all we know, Fett, Dengar, and Dossk are here too." 'Great,' thought Storsek, 'just what we needed, to compete with the galaxy's best hunters!'

When they reached the briefing room, however, he discovered that his fears were unfounded. Inside were only a handful of other bounty hunters, none of whom he could identify. In a near corner of the room stood a small human female with blondish red hair. She was talking to a large Wookie with silver tipped hair. Near the center of the room stood a Gotal who was looking at a data pad. As far as Storsek was concerned, the Gotal could just keep his distance. He didn't like creatures that could tell what he was feeling. It left him at a disadvantage. In the far corner of the room stood an armored human. The padded armor suit was matte black. Storsek thought he was human. He really couldn't tell with the person wearing a helmet that covered his entire head. The helmet was round overall with dark lenses covering the eyes and a gas mask over the mouth. The helmeted hunter looked at the new comers as if deciding what to do with them.

The pompous officer walked up to the center of the room and called for the group's attention. "You may be wondering why you were chosen for this job and not Boba Fett, Dengar, or others. The answer is simple, they have already been sent on another mission. You degenerates were asked to come here…"

"You may cease with your pointless ranting lieutenant." The voice sounded as if it belonged to a god, an evil, cold god who had no feelings for the lives of those who surrounded him. Storsek normally felt cold no matter what. It came with being a cold-blooded being. But this was something beyond anything he had ever felt in his life. Fear penetrated every corner of his soul. He felt himself shaking almost beyond control. He had heard of the terror this, thing, created in other sentient beings. There were rumors that this latest arrival could kill with just a glance. Storsek had always attributed these infamous legends to lesser beings' weaknesses. Now he was the weak one. Now he believed. He believed with all his being that this person was possessed of some power that obeyed his will. Some power that was inexplicable, great, and evil. He knew that this person considered him to be no more than the officer who he had just silenced. As the figure entered the room, his boots clanked on the deck plating beneath him. He just stood there for a moment in all his dark glory. This was he, the Emperor's second in command, and dealer of his wrath,

Darth Vader.

"Some days ago, a treasonous stormtrooper betrayed his company and went AWOL, killing the entire squad in the process. His name is Soris Lull. At the moment, the Imperial Navy is busy with other matters, and cannot spend its time looking for the culprit."

'Busy', thought Xieb, was probably accurate. There were rumors on Tatooine that some members of the Imperial Senate had begun to question the emperor's decisions, just before he disbanded them. Some said that a war was even brewing. Looking at the size of this ship, and thinking that the Empire probably had hundreds of these monsters, Xieb doubted very much that any rebellion would succeed, except at causing a headache for the navy to hunt down.

Darth Vader continued. "There will be a generous reward of fifty thousand credits for the one of you who brings Lull into custody, alive." Leda's mouth almost dropped. Storsek's did. The thought of that much money was unreal. What did this guy do? "Also, in his escape, Lull stole a data rod that we want returned, unopened. The return of the unopened rod will earn the hunter an extra seventy thousand credits. I want Lull alive and the rod unopened. If they are received in any other condition, the bounty will be revoked. That is all."

A few hours later, Storsek was admiring how helpful an imperial officer can be. Especially when offered a large amount of credits. Having paid an officer to arrange passage for them to one of the floating cities orbiting above Duros, they then rented a small shuttle. Now, onboard the shuttle _Bollo_, and with a lead as to Lull's whereabouts, Storsek figured he would finally be able to start making a name for himself. The officer had said that Lull had family on Corellia. The planet was one of five inhabited planets in the Corellia system. The other four were Selona, Drall, Talus, and Tralus. The five planets were called the Five Brothers due to their close orbit, with Corellia being the Elder Brother. Inhabited mostly by humans, Corellia also had the capital city, Coronet, were all three races of the system, humans, selonians, and drall, worked together. Corellia's pilots were renowned throughout the galaxy as being some of the best available.

"Family tradition was very important on Corellia." The officer had told them. "You probably would have better luck getting a hutt to let his slave dancer go than to get a member of Lull's family to betray him." The officer's laugh was proof enough of how little he thought of the three bounty hunters. Storsek knew he could do this. If he could just stay away from the intoxicants, he would have no problems.


	4. Another Path

"What!" Chessik could not believe her ears. "What do you mean he's gone?" She wasn't in the most pleasant of moods. It had taken her two days to descend the mountain and return to the conclave. She had just spent the last four hours with the council detailing her experience. Then she had come home thinking that Croreb would be waiting for her there. It had been nearly a week since they had seen each other. How could he forget she'd be home today?

Her mother was the first to defend him. "Now Chessik, calm down. He left a few hours after you did. He wanted to do his own journey, find his path for this life. You can't blame him for that. He had hoped to be home before you, but he isn't." Her talent for stating the obvious was beyond mortal powers, Chessik had told herself again for what seemed the millionth time. After all, though, it wasn't a total surprise that the committed of a future priestess would want to find his way. He might even join the Family himself and become a priest.

It was time to report to the High Matriarch. Chessik's parents walked with her up to the steps of the Sanctuary. As she pushed open the doors, she felt a sense of peace come over her. She felt as if she were coming home. Inside the Sanctuary were the histories of the Family as well as those of Chessik's people, the Anshik. They were mostly kept in the form of stone engravings. There were very few writings on paper, as it did not last very long. Mostly the paper writings consisted of Chalwa's spells that he had given to the Family over the years. They were kept in an ancient language and not to be put in the public eye.

Passing through the Hall of Histories, Chessik entered into the Inner Sanctum. There, sitting in a meditative position, she found the elderly High Matriarch. Sensing her presence, the High Matriarch opened her eyes and stood up with grace and ease that belied her age. Once they reached each other, the elderly sage embraced Chessik with a bear hug. The lines of age were very deep in the old worn face, but deep in those lines laid a wisdom that Chessik knew she would be listening to for many more years to come. As she looked down into the face of the woman she had thought of as grandmother for so many years, the High Matriarch motioned for her to sit down.

"I can see that your fast was very productive. Your inner strength has grown even greater than before. But something still troubles you. Tell me child, what is it?" The love of the elderly woman never ceased to surprise Chessik. She always cared about everyone.

"I don't know. Something doesn't feel right." Chessik searched her soul for the answer. "It almost feels like I'm being pulled somewhere else. Like I'm not supposed to be here right now."

"We each have our own path to follow, my child. If you feel that Chalwa is telling you to go somewhere, then go. Think not the why, simply follow the light." The High Matriarch's words ring true, Chessik thought. "But I don't know what to do. I haven't been told to go anywhere or to do anything."

"Then don't do anything. Sometimes the answer we get to our prayers is 'wait awhile'. The best thing we can do then is to wait and see what happens, but always listening for the nudge that tells us when to act." Chessik nodded as she took in this newest lesson from her oldest teacher.


	5. My hunt

Xieb would never get used to it. The bright lights streaming around, all leading to a point in front of the shuttle, it was a sight to behold. That was hyperspace. A dimension not fully understood, existing just beneath real space allowing rapid travel from one part of the universe to another. Right now, they were about half way between Duros and Corellia.

"Are we there yet?" Storsek asked for the fifth time. "No." was the fifth answer. Storsek went to answer back when the helm went dead. Looking around him, Xieb noticed that all the other controls were dead also. Leda came running from the back with an expression that said the same had happened in the stern also. Xieb thought for a second. "That's not good."

As he finished his words, a computer-generated voice began to speak.

"10"

"What the slag?" Storsek shouted.

"9"

"Why is it counting?" Leda demanded.

"8"

"I don't know."

"7"

"It must be a bomb or a self destruct device somewhere on the shuttle." Xieb offered.

"6"

"Well then, let's look for it!" Storsek shouted again.

"5"

Try as they might, they couldn't find the source of the voice.

"4"

They began to search more desperately as the counting continued.

"3"

Storsek began tearing at the hull plating on the floor.

"2"

"1"

"I don't want to die!" Storsek screams.

"0"

As the counting stopped, the trio waited for the explosion. After a few seconds they opened their eyes and realized that they were still alive. As they tried to gather their wits, a hologram materialized in thin air. The picture was that of a humanoid, roughly 1.7 meters tall, wearing armor and a helmet. Xieb recognized him as the bounty hunter from the briefing. Before anyone could speak, the hologram did.

"My name is Gunn. All you need to know is that Lull is my hunt and my bounty. Get in my way and you'll find more than this practical joke waiting for you." And the hologram disappeared.

"Great." Leda said exasperated. "Just what have you gotten us into Xieb?"

Xieb looked as if he were going to faint.

Storsek looked at his two partners wondering what he was doing on this mission.

This was not his day.


	6. Nar Shadda

Nal Hutta.

The word in huttese meant "glorious jewel". Looking at the planet from his shuttle, Dunkin wondered what the Hutts considered ugly. He was somewhat relieved that the sickly green and brown planet was not his destination. 

His father had warned him of the Hutts. "They would just as quickly stab you in the back as breath the same air as you if there were a profit involved." If he remembered his histories, the planet Nal Hutta was once a beautiful, green planet with a primitive species living there. The species were called the Evocii. History recorded that when the Hutts first arrived on the planet; they sold technology to the Evocii in return for land and soon bought out the entire planet. After kicking the Evocii off, the Hutts turned Nal Hutta into the fetid swampy mud hole Dunkin could see below.

Of course, the relief he felt for not landing on Nal Hutta was short lived. He knew where he had to go. The only place where he could acquire the information he needed. 

Nar Shadda.

The moon of Nal Hutta, also called the Smuggler's Moon, the last known location of the Evocii, ages ago that is. Now the moon was overrun with thieves, murderers, smugglers, and all other sorts of scoundrels. It was said that anything could be bought here. Maybe he could even find a lead on the Jedi.

Landing on the planet was little trouble, due to the anarchical nature of the planet. Dunkin knew the problem was getting off with the information and his ship in one piece. After seeing that everything was secured, he exited his shuttle and headed for the walkways. He noticed a scavenger out of the corner of his eye. The would-be thief was a short hairy creature; Dunkin couldn't place his/her/it's species. All he knew was that the little one was in for a surprise when he reached the ship.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the blue arc of the electric shock that struck the small creature. After picking itself up off the floor, it would have a different opinion about looting that ship. Dunkin smiled to himself and began his work.


	7. Corellia

Leda looked around herself and smiled. This was a really nice spot to have a family, she thought. If only there weren't so many denizens looking at her as if she were an easy pick. The three hunters were walking through a particularly nasty street of Dagodoc, a city on the coast of Caer, one of Corellia's main oceans. After exiting hyperspace, they landed in Coronet and then rode public transportation to Dagodoc. Xieb said it would draw less attention to them. And since he said there was doubt of Lull actually being on the planet, Xieb said not to worry about hauling a prisoner back to the shuttle on a bus. Looking around the street they were walking on, Leda began doubting that leaving the shuttle so far away really neither mattered nor helped them to avoid being noticed.

The street ended in a bar whose holosign was barely showing a two dimensional rotating image. Leda's nose shriveled at the thought of entering there. But this was part of the job. Hunting bounties wasn't always rushing into a room with blasters blazing. That was only the more interesting part of the job, assuming you even got there. Everything else was just gathering information and deciding what to do with it. As they entered the bar, they were assaulted by odors of drink, caf, and unwashed bodies. No one seemed to be paying them any attention, including the bartender. Xieb did notice that there was a severe lack of non-humans in the bar. In fact, they were the only ones. Without even stopping, Storsek walked straight up to the bar and ordered a drink. The bartender stared at the Trandoshan for a while, and then turned to make the drink. 

"We're looking for someone from around here" Storsek to the bartender when he placed the drink on the counter. "And who would that be, lizard?" The bartender looked angrily at the group. "Around here, we don't particularly like strangers. Especially ugly ones."

Leda realized that Storsek could easily blow the entire thing if the bar patrons got upset at them. She stepped up to the bar flashing her best smile. "Please excuse my friend here, sir. We are from the Galactic Sweepstakes. We were sent to inform a Mr. Soris Lull that he has recently won the Galactic Sweepstakes grand prize of one million credits. We just need to meet with him, confirm his identification, and he can go to Coronet to collect his prize."

A shuffle of seats drew Leda's attention to behind her. She noticed the sudden emptiness of the bar and that three rather large human males were standing behind her. One had red hair with a scar on his forehead. Directly to his left was a shorter, but stockier, blond haired individual resting his hand inside his brown coat on his chest. To the right was a younger version of the leader, also resting his hand inside his coat.

"Ya'll ain't from no sweepstakes" the leader says.

Leda stepped away from the bar, letting her hand fall to the holster at her side, trying to make the movement look casual. "Look friends, we don't want any trouble. We just want to find Mr. Lull and then we'll be on our way." As Leda was talking, she noticed that Storsek had moved slightly to her left, while Xieb had slid more to her right. Almost as if following a plan, the blond and younger thugs also fanned out. "Look," Leda began, holding her left hand out while her right hand touched the butt of her low-slung blaster, "I said we don't want any trouble. If you don't know where Mr. Lull can be found, then we'll just leave."

The leader cracked a smug smile, "I never said we didn't know where he is, just that we don't buy ya'lls half-plotted trajectory. Ya'll might be able to sell that hutt-spit to some low-brained, unevolved alien, but we ain't buyin' it." As if on cue, the two other thugs pulled their blasters from their coats. While Leda drew hers, she heard a click behind her telling her that the bartender was pulling something out and most likely would use it on her and her friends. She had two choices; she could continue to draw her blaster at the leader, or she could spin to face the bartender. Either choice had problems. If she turned to face the bartender, the leader could pull a blaster of his own, or even a vibroknife and kill her with ease. On the other hand, if she stayed facing the leader, the bartender would have a clean shot at her backside. The answer came almost immediately. An old Rodian saying for dealing with two predators at once; 'kill the one you can while you can, otherwise, they could both kill you during your indecision.' All of these thoughts happened in the blink of an eye. She drew her blaster with out hesitation and pointed it at the leader. The sound of two bolts being discharged, followed by the smell of ozone, made Leda wonder who had shot whom. Seeing the leader in front of her let her know that neither she had shot him nor that he had shot her. The fact that she still stood told her that the bartender had not gotten a shot off. A quick glance to the left showed her the crumpled corpse of a blond human lying on the floor, smoke rising from his chest. Storsek had never really liked using the stun setting on his rifle and had simply shot the human before he could even draw his blaster. A glance to the right confirmed her other suspicion about who shot who. Xieb had never liked violence. He was the anti-thesis to Storsek. He preferred the stun setting on his two pistols and used it frequently, as was the case with the red headed human now laying on the floor convulsing. What surprised Leda the most, however, was that Xieb had shot the human with his right handed pistol while drawing and aiming his left handed pistol at the bartender, which explained why he wasn't moving. Leda tracked his aim and saw that Xieb had perfectly aimed his pistol at the center of the bartender's chest, and he was only looking out of the corner of his eye.

"Well," said Xieb to the leader when no one else talked, "we've got an interesting situation here. One of you is already dead and the one I can only assume to be your brother is twitching. We seem to have the upper hand here. Now I don't know how much Lull paid you to keep his location a secret, and I really don't care. All I want to know is where he was headed when he left here. You can either tell me now while you're standing on your own two feet, or my Trandoshan friend over there can start pulling your limbs off, one at a time till you talk. I, myself, would prefer the former, as I suspect you would also. My friend, however, would prefer the latter much, much more. So, which shall it be gentle beings?"

The human swallowed a gulp while he slowly pulled out a pistol, which he put on the floor and kicked to the side. "Look, Lull didn't pay us enough to cover this. He was headed to Nar Shadda. Said he could get someone there to buy what he had. He left about two days ago." 

"Thank you," Xieb said looking quite pleased, "You've been very helpful. Now, we are going to go to Nar Shadda to find Lull. We _will_ get him. If he has been warned of our coming, thus making our lives more difficult, then we will return and make your lives more difficult. Am I clear?" Both the bartender and the leader nodded their heads with great earnest.

Keeping everyone in sight, the three left the bar and walked out onto the street. When they were about a block away and heading for the public transport stop, a small human female ran up to them calling for their attention. Stopping to face her, Storsek asked, "What do you want, little female?"

The young woman could have been in her adolescence, Leda never really could tell with humans. She looked as if deciding whether or not to press on with what she had started. Apparently deciding to continue, she said, "My name is Seniel. I was watching the fighting from a window. You were great!" Her praise seemed both sincere and made out of fear. "I was hoping you could help me. I could pay you."

Leda, noting the honesty in her voice, asked, "What do you need?"

"Two months ago, my little sister, Zeanna, was sold by my father-in-law to slave traders of Durga the Hutt. I don't even know if she's alive or not.  I heard that you were going to Nar Shadda. If you are, I was hoping you could maybe find out at least if she's still alive."

"And what would be the payment?" Storsek asked rather quickly. The young human startled for a moment before continuing. "My mom married her current husband because my dad died smuggling some contraband for the Rebellion. In his will he left his YT-1100 to my sister and me. It's not much, but you're more than welcome to have it. All I want is to know if my sister's still alive or not."

Xieb stepped up, "We will gladly find out what we can, Seniel. We'll be back in a week or so." As they turned to leave, Leda closed in to Xieb's oversized ear. "Is your astromech faulty? What were you plotting? We don't even know what condition that ship is in! And you commit us to check in with a Hutt?"

Xieb stopped and looked her in the eye. "It's the right thing to do, Leda." Then he turned and continued walking toward the transport stop. "The right thing to do," Leda exclaimed, "that's just great! We are so dead, Storsek! He's going to get us all vaped!"

When they got back to the port, they found a human standing next to the _Bollo_'s closed entry gantry. He was dressed in a tan uniform and had an air of indifference about him.

Storsek was the first to talk. "Who are you?"

"My name is Fenald. My employer requested that you consider doing a job for him."

Leda looked doubtful. "What kind of a job?"

Fenald handed a data rod to Leda who handed it to Xieb. "Everything you need to know about what we want is on that rod." Apparently considering that to be the end of the conversation, Fenald turned around and left.

After boarding the ship, Xieb inserted the data rod into a reader and played the message recorded there on. A hologram of a middle aged human male with black eyes and matching hair. "Greetings, my name is Kuat of Kuat. I am the CEO of the Kuat Drive Yards. I am sending you this message because I have become aware that you are currently seeking a certain data rod for the Empire. You should be aware that the data rod is sealed by certain access codes that, if someone other than imperial slicers opens the rod, it will be obvious when you turn it in to them. In other words, do not try to open the rod yourself. However, this does present a problem since you are no doubt as curious about the contents of this data rod as I am. Why would the Empire be willing to pay such an exorbitant amount for a data rod seems unreal, unless there is some very valuable information on it. If you bring me the rod, I can slice it without the Empire ever finding out. I can also offer you a handsome fee if you bring it to me before returning it to the Empire. If you decide to agree to my proposal, simply bring me the rod at your earliest convenience." The image of Kuat of Kuat disappeared into thin air as the message ended.

Xieb looked at the others. "Well, I think we'd better find this rod before anyone else does. Quite a few people want it and they are willing to pay for it."

Storsek thought that he might just be having a good day for once.


	8. Initiation

A feeling of solemnity permeated the room. Chessik looked around her and saw the various priests and priestesses who had gathered for her Initiation. She sat on a mat in front of the High Patriarch and High Matriarch with her back toward them. They were gathered in the Hall of Expia. It was the largest room in the Sanctuary. It represented the highest level an Anshik could achieve in life, a complete and total at one-ment with Chalwa. 

All members of the Family had green eyes, some brighter than others. Green eyes were very rare naturally among the Anshik. Most Anshik who had green eyes weren't born with them. Their eyes had changed with the Initiation. The Initiation consisted of drinking of water drawn from the Holy Fount, a natural fountain that the Sanctuary had been built around. It was believed that Chalwa had placed the fountain there as a means of communicating with his children. All Anshik who wished to join the Family were prepared for several years and, when they were ready, drank water drawn from the fountain. After drinking the water, the initiates would collapse into a holy trance where they would listen to and learn from Chalwa himself for several days. After waking, their eyes would have turned green and they would be welcomed into full fellowship with the Family and considered priests or priestesses with full status. 

Chessik proved something of a mystery to the Family and the faithful others like her parents. Most Anshik children are born with blue eyes that eventually turn brown, gray, or stay blue. Chessik, however, had been born with green eyes, never having had blue at all. The Anshik considered children born with green eyes sacred. They were called the Pre-Ordained, those chosen from before birth to accomplish great deeds in their lives. In the history of the Anshik, most Pre-Ordained were born during times of wars and tyrants. Their births had been hailed as the beginning of the end for those despots. However, in Chessik's case, there were no tyrants to stop or wars to end. In fact, the Anshik had recently been enjoying their longest stretch of peace in many years. Why, then had a Pre-Ordained been born? Chessik had been asking herself that very question since she had studied the histories and discovered her uniqueness. She was not particularly good at spells, using the Powers, or anything else for that matter. Other than her eyes, she was actually quite average. 

As she again wondered at her destiny, Chessik looked at the procession. Several priests and priestesses walked down the middle of the Hall of Expia, one of which was carrying a small cup that held water from the Holy Fount. This was the part Chessik feared the most. She feared that after drinking the water, her collapse to the floor would be rather undignified. 

As the High Matriarch looked at her favorite student, she knew of the fears and doubts going through her head. They were the same ones she had felt in her Initiation. Chessik would be fine. When she would collapse, the priests would be there to catch her before she hit the ground. Then she would be carried to her room to rest with members of the Family tending her until she awoke. As the High Matriarch thought all of this, she also thought about the fact that a Pre-Ordained had been born in a time of peace. Her many meditations and those of her husband had not told them anything comforting. The memories of previous patriarchs and matriarchs all agreed. If a Pre-Ordained had been born into a time of peace, it meant something was happing that the Family did not know about. This showed a severe failing on their part. As the High Matriarch thought this, an old proverb came to her head; "And the people ignored the warnings and signs saying, 'All is well with the Anshik, the Anshik prosper.' And thus the enemy, Quorihor, doth deceive them and lead them slowly but surely to their destruction." 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the procession coming to a halt in front of Chessik. Chessik stood up and bowed at the waist to the priest holding the cup. He inclined his head and held out the cup for her to take. While both had their hands on the cup, he recited, "May Chalwa's words ring true in your mind and in your heart" after which he stepped back. Chessik closed her eyes and put her lips to the cup's brim, and then drank all the water in it. As the water passed down her throat, she felt warmth spread throughout the whole of her body. She felt as if her mind were expanding. She waited for the warmth to take her completely into a trance and relaxed her grip on the cup a little more than she had planned, almost dropping it. The priest immediately stepped up to take the cup while the others in the procession gathered around to catch Chessik. 

A few moments passed and Chessik opened her eyes with confusion. A murmur began to spread through the assembled Family members. The High Patriarch sat upright on his mat, taken aback by what he saw. He had never seen such a thing, in all his years. He did not even notice the look of horror on his wife's face. "Not again" she whispered to herself. "Please Chalwa, not again." Chessik hadn't fainted.


	9. Soris Lull

When they got to Nar Shadda four days later, they found a reputable docking bay and set up the ship's automatic defenses. They hoped that anyone seeing them would at least think they had a good system, since the shuttle's defenses consisted of a simple klaxon that would sound repeatedly when activated. 

Storsek noticed with grim satisfaction a small furry thief hiding in the corner. It seemed to be nursing some burns and obviously didn't want anything to do with the Bollo. Storsek wondered how the creature came by those burns in the first place. Xieb also noticed the small creature and was struck by an idea. He walked towards the huddled mass of cloaks and squatted down a meter away from it. "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to ask you something. What's your name?" 

The small specimen lifted its furry snout, "Me not have name. Me a ranat. Me not steal from you. Please not hurt me." The small ranat seemed terrified of the group. 

Xieb tried to look as soothing as possible while he pulled out the holographic emitter Gunn had left on the shuttle. During their trip, he had reprogrammed the emitter to display rotating images of Lull and Gunn. "Like I said, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know if you've seen this man." Pressing a button on the emitter's side, a small display of Lull hovered in mid air. 

"Yes," -the ranat said hesitantly -"me see him two cycles past. He come in on a transport ship. Me stay near bays to help newcomers and provide various services." Then, seeming to bolster his confidence -"Me can find him if you want. He easy to spot. He looking for secure meeting place. Going to meet someone secret. You want me to find him?" The ranat almost looked hopeful at the idea. 

"What will it cost us?" Xieb thought to their almost depleted funds. If they didn't finish this job successfully, then they would get stuck on some rock for the rest of their lives. Probably Kessel too, he thought. 

"Me just want some food. And to leave Smuggler's Moon." Xieb was taken back. "We're not running a transport service here. We just want to find this person and get out." The ranat didn't give up so easily. "Where you go? Me go anywhere. Just away." Xieb looked back at Leda, who was holding her nose in disgust. "We're going to Nal Hutta. After that, who knows?" The ranat perked up. "Me can go anywhere! Me find the man!" With that he shot off through a door onto the walkways. 

"Well," -began Storsek -"we've got a tag along. Great!" Within a few minutes the ranat ran back into the bay and tripped for going so fast. "Me find him! Me find him! He going to meet with Rebels in the Truce Zone." Leda gave the ranat a quizzical look. "What's the Truce Zone?" "It a restaurant owned by Durga the Hutt. He make it a place where smugglers and other criminals can meet without fights. His security there not let blasters or other power weapons in. Somewhat safe place." Storsek wasn't happy with the idea of leaving his blaster behind. 

However, Leda had an idea. "Xieb, do you still have that sniper rifle from your military days?" Xieb didn't like to remember those days, but he saw what she had in mind. "Yea, I brought it with me. Hang on." He opened the ship and walked inside. A few moments later, he exited holding the case with the disassembled rifle inside. "I think we can do this." Locating the restaurant wasn't difficult, and the ranat was right about no power weapons allowed. The doorway had power pack detectors on both sides and very gruesome looking Gamoreans to make sure that nothing made it in. 

The Truce Zone was located at one of the highest levels on Nar Shadda, well above the seediest places. The roof and walls were made of transparasteel, which meant no personal blasters from outside would make it in. It certainly seemed to be a safe place to meet. The restaurant was very quiet. Xieb assumed that had something to do with the high prices of such a restaurant. Setting up for the capture wasn't that difficult either. 

The ranat said that Lull would be there in a few hours to meet with some rebel agent. It only took Storsek a moment to scare off a hover cab owner who had stepped out for a break. Leda hotwired the cab. Leda and Storsek had stashed their blasters in the cab and then went in to the restaurant to find a table. Xieb flew the cab up to another roof not far off with the ranat in tow. 

On the roof, Xieb assembled and calibrated his sniper rifle while the ranat complained about his stomach. "Quite griping, would you? You'll get fed." "Ok, ok. What you do with gun anyway?" 

"The empire said they wanted this Lull guy alive. They didn't say how many limbs he needed to have. So, I'm just going to remove a leg when he goes to leave the bar. Leda and Storsek will grab him while we fly down to get them. Everybody will pile into the cab and we'll get to the Bollo and lift off. Hopefully this will go off without a hitch." 

The ranat looked Xieb in the face. "How often things go without hitch?" 

"Not often." 

"Great." 

"Don't worry." Xieb said as he finished with his blaster and looked through the scope. He startled as he looked down at the entrance to the restaurant. "There's Lull. He's already here. Good thing you got us here so early, ranat. Leda's seen him. Perfect!" Sweeping around the entrance, trying to guess where Lull would go, Xieb saw something that made him jump. He had to check a second time to make sure. "Oh slag!"  
  
  


Leda had barely sat down at the bar when Storsek tapped her on the shoulder. Turning around she saw Lull entering the bar and heading for a table to sit with another human. This was perfect. She began to stand up and feel for the knife she had hidden in her sleeve when a movement at the door caught her eye. Her eyes widened in horror as her hand formed a vice around Storsek's arm.  
  
  


Xieb sighted Gunn with his rifle through the transparasteel roof. He knew that he couldn't shoot Gunn from here, but he would be the first one shot after he left the restaurant.  
  
  


Leda knew that they had to move fast. Storsek stood and moved to intercept Gunn while Leda moved to get Lull. Storsek was fairly certain that he could take the hunter. Leda stepped behind Lull and put her knife to his back. "Nice and easy there, big boy. We're just going to move out of her nice and quick. Any sudden moves and you'll be a paraplegic. Now head for the door." Leda glanced over at Storsek. 

He had reached Gunn and without waiting simply punched him in the chest. That's where the punch would have landed at least. Gunn had moved out of the way, letting Storsek's momentum carry him forward and off balance. As Storsek stumbled forward, Gunn landed a left-handed ridge hand on Storsek's neck, temporarily closing his throat. Storsek's vision went hazy for a moment while he stumbled backward. It cleared just in time to see Gunn's armored fist landing straight on his snout. 

Leda winced. She knew that was a sensitive spot for him. As Storsek stumbled back, Gunn made a straight line for Leda and Lull. She tripped Lull over a leg to throw him to the floor while she brought her knife to bear. Gunn swiped the knife away and spun into a kick that landed on right underneath Leda's breastbone. She fell to the floor as the air evacuated her lungs. She looked over as Lull stood up to fight off Gunn, only to see him get punched on the side of his head, effectively knocking him out. 

As Gunn stooped to pick Lull up, Leda was surprised to see him lift up and fly a few feet. Looking past where Gunn had stood, she saw a human male pulling his booted foot back from a sidekick while loosening something from his left forearm. The human wore black trousers with a blue shirt. His long blond hair was pulled back in a tail. The item he had loosened from his forearm looked like the shifter from a swoop or something. His shifter confused Leda because it glowed. She was certain that no powered weapons were allowed in the restaurant. She was surprised even more when the rod extended into a two-meter staff. 

Leda wasn't sure who this human was, and she really didn't care. She watched as the human spun his staff over his head and tucked on end under his right arm with his left hand while his right hand guided the other end of the staff to Gunn's head. The crack could be heard all through the empty restaurant. Sliding to the side, the human spun the staff again over his head doing the reverse of before, this time landing the strike sidelong into Gunn's abdomen, doubling him over. 

Leda jumped to her feat and ran over to Storsek. He seemed to be all right as she helped him to his feet. The two of them ran over to Lull's unconscious body. Storsek threw the human over his shoulder and headed for the door. He noticed that the other human who Lull had been sitting with had ducked away and was talking into a comlink. Probably reporting to his superior. They would have to move fast. Leda turned to look at the human standing over Gunn. The human's staff had somehow gained a spearhead. Leda really hoped the human would take Gunn's head off. She was surprised when Gunn pivoted on his left knee and thrust his right foot into the human's stomach, sending him sprawling over a table. Then Gunn stood and ran towards her.  
  
  


"Emperor's Black Bones!" Xieb couldn't believe what he was seeing through his riflescope. First Gunn batted his teammates around like nothing, and then some lone human almost kills him. It was unreal. Xieb saw that Leda and Storsek had exited the restaurant, dragging Lull with them. They managed to get to the side of the door as Gunn came running out of the door. Xieb had a perfect bead on him. It was the perfect shot. Xieb squeezed the trigger, relishing the thought of taking Gunn out of the permanent picture. 

As Xieb fired the rifle, he was surprised to see Gunn's head actually look right at him. Xieb knew he was very well hidden and almost half a kilometer away. There was no way Gunn could know where he was. What surprised Xieb even more was that right as he had fired the rifle, Gunn dodged to the side. 

He actually dodged the blaster bolt. It wasn't possible. There wasn't a species alive that could do that. Yet, Gunn was still standing there. Xieb watched as he pressed a button on his wrist computer, then turned towards Leda, Storsek, and Lull. Then Gunn's head turned towards the restaurant, where the human had gotten up and was running towards Gunn holding that weird glowing staff. 

Xieb watched in surprise as Gunn jumped off the restaurant's balcony into the open air. As Xieb watched, Gunn landed on a pilotless swoop bike, presumably slaved to his wrist computer. Gunn opened up the throttle and sped off. The human looked from side to side and finally caught sight of an open cockpit air car. He jumped in and seemingly hotwired it in record time. He then took flight after Gunn. 

This was really too much, thought Xieb as he threw his rifle into the hover cab and climbed in. The ranat jumped in and they flew down to the restaurant's landing pad where Leda and Storsek unceremoniously dumped Lull's still unconscious body into the back seat and climbed in after him. The flight to the hanger was blissfully uneventful. 

After stowing Lull in the cargo compartment, sufficiently bound at the wrists and ankles, Xieb left the moon's gravity field and made to set course for Nal Hutta, the home world of the hutts. Leda looked confused. "Where are you going?" 

"Don't you remember that we said we would check in on Seniel's little sister? Durga has a palace on Nal Hutta. We can at least check it out." Storsek entered the cockpit. "Are you out of your little mind? Just because we said we would check it out doesn't mean we have to." 

"Yes it does. It's the right thing to do. And you both know it." Both Leda and Storsek had looks of dread on their faces.  
  
  



	10. Got away get away

Dunkin didn't know how the armored man had done it. He had managed to disappear without a trace. Taking the air car to the hanger where his ship was stowed, he wondered just who the armored man was. 

He also wondered whom the female alien standing close to his ship was. She was a twi'lek, he thought. Her green skin was perfectly toned with no spots of marks. Her head tails were both hanging down her back. She had on a brown jumper, which didn't look like it would leave much to the imagination except for the padded armor she wore on her chest. She also wore padded armor on her well-defined forearms and legs. 

"Hello, my name is Sarti' Ani. I bring you a message from my master, Durga the Hutt." Dunkin didn't like the way this was going. "What kind of message?" 

"He noticed you chasing a certain bounty hunter earlier. He couldn't help but notice your piloting skills. After reviewing the holos of his restaurant, the Truce Zone, he decided that perhaps the two of you might be able to reach an agreement." 

"What sort of agreement?" 

"He knows the name of the bounty hunter you seek. If you agree to do a small job for him, he will set up a bounty that would bring that particular hunter to Durga's palace where you could deal with him." 

"What kind of favor would I owe that a hutt would be willing to do this for me?" 

"Just a scouting mission. Nothing more. If you're interested, come to his palace on Nal Hutta." After she finished talking, the lithe twi'lek walked out of the hanger and around a corner. Dunkin boarded his ship thinking on his father's words and the idea of going home soon.

            After landing on the dank swamp world of Nal Hutta, Storsek had to cover his bruised snout with his claws in a vain attempt to block the stench. "This is a bad idea, you know. Why would a hutt tell us about some slave girl he's probably never even heard of? I'll bet those slavers just sold her or did who knows what with her without the hutt ever finding out." 

Xieb was trying to restrain himself from covering his own nose. "That may be true, but we said we'd check, and at least then Seniel would know what happened to her sister." 

"Well, why did we leave Leda behind?" 

"Are you brain dead?" Xieb asked in shock. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Leda's actually pretty attractive for a rodian. If we brought her to see Durga, he might want her to stay. He might want it bad enough to do something about it. Also, I didn't want to leave Lull alone where he might try to escape, damage the ship, or kill himself. We kind of need him alive, you know." Storsek thought for a moment. "Oh." 

After entering through the palace doors, Xieb and Storsek were shown directly into Durga's throne room. As they entered, they noticed with repulsion the large rank mass that was laid on a floating platform in front of them. As Durga began to speak, Xieb was glad he had spent a few months teaching basic huttese to Storsek. Now he wouldn't have to repeat everything later. 

"Bo-shuuda, my friends. I have let you enter my presence so that we may discuss a business proposition." Xieb answered back in perfect huttese. "Bo-shuuda, great Durga. We are honored by your consideration of us as perspective employees of your auspiciousness. We have also sought out your magnificence so that we may seek a small gift of information." 

Durga looked taken aback that someone would ask a favor of him. "What do you wish to know, little sullustan?" 

"We heard that in recent times, your greatness acquired a small human girl from Corellia. She goes by the name of Zeanna. We were curious as to her current status, whether or not she was still in your gracious employ." Durga laughed so loud it filled the great throne room. He motioned to the side with his stubby hand and a small, underfed and underdressed human female who did bear some resemblance to Seniel. 

"Is this the one you're looking for? This pathetic waste of skin has whimpered for home since she arrived. She has no skills in dancing and has yet to please me. I will not only grant you knowledge of her life and presence, but I will grant you her being. Take her home to her family. Perhaps it will be a better use than to throw her to my drosak pets. In return for her life, you will owe me a favor, one that I will request and define at a time of my choosing. If you do not wish to enter into such an arrangement, then this young one will be a very pore meal for my pets. What do you say?" 

This was an unfair situation. Xieb knew that Durga knew how valuable Zeanna was to him. While Storsek would not think much about letting this human die, Xieb knew he could not live with himself if she did die. "Your greatness, we graciously accept your gift and will happily perform a favor for you in return for the human's life. Your graciousness is without limits." 

Zeanna was thrust in Xieb's direction. He caught her and steadied her. "Then go, my little friends. I will call you when I am ready." When they returned to the ship, Leda took Zeanna to a back bunker and set to make her comfortable. 

After lifting off, Xieb plotted a course to Duros. As Storsek sat next to him in the copilot seat, he said, "I agree that Duros would be the best place to go first. Let's get rid of Lull before he becomes a bigger pain. When I went to take the data rod from his pockets, he actually tried to bite me! Do you know that he has been screaming nonstop since he woke up a few minutes ago? How did someone like him become a storm trooper anyway?" 

Leda entered the cabin and sat at the communications seat. "Hey. Didn't someone else want to see this data rod before the Empire saw it?" Xieb turned in his chair. "Yeah, now that you mentioned it. That Kuat of Kuat. I think that it would be a better idea to visit him first and see what he wants. Maybe." 

A warning siren interrupted Xieb's words. 

"What's that?" Leda looked at the sensors screen. "It's a ship on fast approach from Nar Shadda. It looks like a medium sized ship, maybe 50 meters long. I've never seen anything like this before. It's heavily armed. I'm counting four quad cannons and two torp launchers. It could kill us in a second." As she was taking in what she herself had just said, another beep caught her attention. "Whoever it is, he wants to talk to us." Leda's throat caught as the image cleared. She recognized the dark helmet and padded armor. "It's Gunn. That's Gunn's ship." 

"Very good rodian. Now listen very closely. You're going to stop your ship right now. I'm going to dock with you. You will then pass the captive over to my ship along with his data rod, which I know you have. If this sequence of events has not started within the next 30 seconds, I will happily shoot out your cockpit. Yes my guns are that accurate. I know that my prize will not be damaged due to the fact that his biosignature is currently in your cargo hold, perfectly sealed off from any vacuation of the air in your ship. You have 30 seconds, mark." 

Xieb looked at his chronometer. It would be at least another 2 minutes before they would reach the hyperspace jump point. They couldn't make it in time even if he increased to full throttle. He reached for the throttle control when a pair of blue ion bolts passed between the Bollo and Gunn's ship. Xieb looked out the window to see 3 Y-wings closing in. A voice came over the intercom. 

"This is Captain Tycho Celchu of the Rebel Alliance. We know that one of you has Soris Lull on board your ship. Both ships will come to a halt or we will be forced to open fire." Gunn broke off to fight the Y-wings. 

As Xieb saw it happening, his hand tightened on the throttle and pushed it to its max. The shuttle's max speed wasn't something to admire greatly or anything, but with Gunn fighting with the rebels, perhaps everyone would be a little too preoccupied to notice. As they almost reached the hyperspace jump point, Storsek noticed blue ion bolts passing around the ship. "They're on top of us! Get us out of here Xieb!" 

"Oh ye of little faith" Xieb said has he reached forward and pulled the hyperdrive motivator lever. The stars in the distance became bright streaks of light, which eventually turned, into a cone of light around the shuttle's cockpit. 

"Oh ye of little faith?" Storsek asked. 

"Ancient literature. Don't worry about it."


	11. Buisness

The Kuat star system was home to the galaxy's finest shipyards. Naturally they were under imperial control. The shipyards orbited around the primary planet of the Kuat system, which was named Kuat as well. Leda looked at the massive shipyards in awe. "So this is the place they built the _Executor_? I can see why the empire would value it so much."

After docking, Leda and Xieb boarded the station, leaving Storsek to watch the ship and Lull. Leda cast a wary eye at Xieb. "Are you sure it's safe to leave our bounty with Storsek? He might get hungry."

"Trandoshans aren't like that. They won't kill and eat someone if they can get money for them instead" Xieb replied.

"Nice to know they distinguish."

After boarding the station, they recognized the human wearing the light brown work suit. Xieb reached out his hand to shake. "Greetings Fenald. We came to visit with your employer."

Not taking Xieb's hand, Fenald turned and began to walk away. "Then you should follow me."

Following Fenald through the large station orbiting high above the planet Kuat, they eventually came to a large office where Fenald showed them in, then left.

Standing at a large window was a medium sized human with a young appearance. "Hello, my friends. I am Kuat of Kuat. I'm glad to see you decided to accept my little invitation."

"Well, we haven't accepted it yet," Xieb began, "we're here to hear how much this arrangement would be worth to us."

Kuat's face cracked in a smile. "A sensible precaution my friends. I know that the empire is offering you seventy-five thousand credits for the data rod. I say, take the money. I can open the rod, copy the information inside, and close it up again without any evidence to the copy. I will pay you one-hundred credits for the information inside and let you take the original back to the empire for your fee."

That added up to a large amount of money. Xieb thought of all that could be done with that money. Then he thought of how many people were willing to pay through the nose for it. "We only want fifty-thousand credits." Leda began making choking noises. "We also want a copy of the data rod for ourselves." Leda seemed to think about that for a moment, and then stopped with the choking.

"That sounds like a reasonable arrangement. I'm sure you realize the dangers of carrying around a copy of the data rod with you. If it were found, the empire would know that you had opened the rod. It could be very bad for you."

"We'll take our chances." Xieb was sure this would be worth it.

As Kuat opened the file to see what it contained, holographic plans formed in mid air, plans of a new transport type ship. Heavily armored and armed, the ship could be piloted by one being, with the majority of the weapons being computer controlled. There was one dorsal quad cannon and one ventral. There were also two quad cannons and two torpedo launchers mounted around the cockpit, which was centered in the front of the ship. Kuat studied the plans for a while. "I've never seen anything like this before."

Xieb took one look at the ship hovering in between them all. "I have. That's Gunn's ship. How did he get a ship before the Empire was even done with the designs? That doesn't make sense."

After Kuat had made the copies and paid them the money, they returned to the shuttle and blasted off. While Xieb set a course for Duros, Storsek explained how he thought the ranat and Zeanna were getting along very well. The ranat had already expressed the desire to go with Zeanna to her home world.

Arriving on Duros, Storsek handed Lull over to the imperial troopers while Leda and Xieb handled the money. Only a short time later, they were returning the shuttle and paying the exorbitant fees that are usually associated with renting a shuttle from Duros. They soon bought passage on a liner back to Corellia.

Storsek was again upset at the accommodations. "Why didn't we just take the shuttle back to Corellia. I know we couldn't have kept it, but at least it would have been faster than this!"

Leda looked at him, tired of explaining this for the millionth time. "It was just still cheaper to pay for passage on this liner than to rent the shuttle for another trip. The only reason we ever rented that shuttle was because we were transporting a prisoner, which would have been difficult to do on this liner. Now shut up and go take a nap or something."

After arriving on Corellia, they escorted Zeanna to meet with Seniel. The two sisters looked like they were happier than ever before. "Oh, thank you kind beings" Seniel repeated over and over. "Please, take the ship," she said handing over the code key. "It's over in hanger 138 in Coronet proper. Thank you so much for your help. I had given up hope."

Walking down the street to be picked up by transport, Xieb cast a sidelong glance at Storsek. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it? Admit it. It actually feels good to know that you helped one small, insignificant, seemingly unimportant life, doesn't it."

"No, it was a complete waste of time." But, Xieb noticed, Storsek didn't sound at all convinced.

"Well," Leda said, "let's go pick up our heap of a ship."


	12. The other

Chessik was kneeling in her room in meditation when the High Matriarch entered and shut the door behind her. "I know what you're worried about, Chessik. You're mind is practically screaming it."

Chessik stood and turned to face her teacher. "I've checked the records over and over again, and there is nothing written in the prophecies about what happened to me. It's not supposed to happen this way. I was supposed to faint as soon as I drank the water. For the first time, I feel like Chalwa doesn't have an answer for me." She turned her head to hide the fear in her eyes. "I'm scared for the first time in my life."

The elderly matron looked at her student gauging whether she was touched or not. "There is no prophecy given to us that says that every initiate will pass out. It's just that that's the way it's always happened. Except now for two instances."

Chessik looked up in confusion. "Two? But there isn't anything in the records about someone else."

"That's because it was decided that no one should ever know about it. The only records kept of the instance were the memories of the matriarch and patriarch who lived during that time. It was assumed that the he didn't faint due to an already incredible power he had within him."

Chessik was desperate to know of this other person who had shared a similar initiation. "Well, what was this he like? What did he accomplish in his life that had to be kept secret? Why wouldn't it be good to know about him?"

"This one was born during a time when an cruel aristocracy was ruling the Anshik. Nobody could oppose them. They had all the weapons and most of the men in their control. The matriarch of this time became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Lothlor'yn. The patriarch and matriarch raised this boy in the proper way, teaching him all they could about Chalwa and his plan for the Anshik. He grew to be very powerful, and when he was around eighteen years old, he led the people in a rebellion against the aristocracy. After over throwing them, though, he felt that the only way to insure that they would never rise to power again was to kill them. He disobeyed Chalwa's law and killed in cold blood, using the powers he had been given. The people believed him when he told them that it had been for their own safety.

"Later on, he felt that the people would again allow corrupt individuals to gain power and rule in tyranny. He preached and preached to the people that they should not allow this to happen, but they should choose the best people to lead them. They said they wanted him to lead. At first he resisted, explaining how priests are forbidden from entering politics, but they persisted. Other priests, both young and old, who were swayed by the decisive way Lothlor had handled the aristocracy, began to cheer him on as well. Soon he agreed to take control. The patriarch warned him that to do this would be to disobey Chalwa's law. Lothlor became enraged and threw his father from the room with his powers. By the grace of Chalwa, the Family managed to convince the people to choose someone who did not already have other obligations, as Lothlor did. When Lothlor realized he would not be taking power of government, he became enraged and swore in the Sanctuary that he would kill his father for this. He then left the Sanctuary and the Family, taking many priests with him. A few months later he reappeared, preaching his new doctrine that people didn't need to listen to old leaders who were out of date with the times, that the current faith was restricting and unnecessary. All of these things he had the right to do, as our government at that time did not prohibit speaking one's beliefs in public, just as it is now. What got the Family's attention was that he had changed his name. He had decided that he would be called Quorihor."

Chessik gasped when she heard the name. Quorihor was the name of the enemy. It was rarely used in any sermon due to the fear it instilled. She couldn't understand why a priest would choose to be called by that name, "Unless he was following the enemy," she said in horror.

"Yes," the matriarch continued, "he had decided to follow the dark path that leads to nothing but sorrow and pain. The patriarch received a revelation that Lothlor had to be done away with, that his perversity could not be allowed to cloud more minds. The patriarch began to increase the warrior training of the priests and priestesses in the Family. But it seemed as if Lothlor was intent on fulfilling his promise of earlier. He and his followers marched on the Sanctuary intent on burning it to the ground. The Family met him on the steps of the Sanctuary and there was a long and bloody battle, during which many good people died. Eventually, though, the tide turned against Lothlor, and he fled, leaving his army behind. He was never heard from again. None of the patriarchs or matriarchs that came afterward ever found him. That was nearly eight hundred years ago. No records were kept in case someone like you came along. We didn't want the people to assume that every pre-ordained who didn't faint in their initiation was destined to bring about blood shed. It would have been to much for them to handle."

Chessik looked at her teacher and asked, "Then why am I here now? Why am I like Lothlor? I have no intentions of obtaining power or following the enemy. I'm also not that powerful."

"You weren't that powerful before, if you compared yourself to those already initiated and trained. But compared to those with your training and experience, you were quite powerful before, and I'm sure you've exceeded everyone else in your group by now. As to why you're here, I don't know, I honestly don't know."


End file.
